Residue Of Prohibited Antibiotic Reported In Diestel Turkey – USDA

November 13, 2017, Berkeley, CA – The residue of a FDA-prohibited antibiotic has appeared in tests done by the USDA on Diestel Turkey Ranch birds. Diestel turkeys are sold at premium prices at Whole Foods and other “natural” food stores, and marketed as “antibiotic free.”

That FDA-prohibited drug, Chloramphenicol, can have “severe toxic effects in humans including bone marrow suppression or aplastic anemia in susceptible individuals,” according to the USDA.

Through advertising and other marketing, customers have been led to believe that Diestel turkeys are humanely raised outdoors on a bucolic family farm. The company states on its website that their turkeys are “never given hormones, antibiotics or growth stimulants.” But according to an amended complaint filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, the USDA reports “residues of antibiotics important for human use, veterinary antibiotics, a hormone and other pharmaceuticals” in Diestel turkeys in 2015 and 2016. The amended complaint was filed on behalf of an individual consumer and the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) against Diestel Turkey Ranch on November 13, 2017.

“Consumers are being misled by Diestel,” said DxE co-founder Wayne Hsiung. “They think high-priced Diestel turkey is drug free when it actually contains drugs that can be harmful to humans.”

Other drugs that appeared in tests done on Diestel turkeys by the USDA’s National Residue Program include amikacin, hygromycin, ipronidazole, melengestrol acetate, and ketamine, a narcotic that the Drug Enforcement Agency describes as “a dissociative anesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects.” Ketamine has not been approved by the FDA for use in poultry.

The lawsuit also alleges that Diestel Turkey Ranch has falsely advertised that its turkeys are raised outdoors when, in fact, they are raised in massive industrial sheds. A 2015 DxE investigation reported on in the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post revealed appalling conditions at a Diestel facility in Jamestown, California. The lawsuit alleges that Diestel violated California’s False Advertising Law by labeling its turkeys as “free range” and “humane” despite raising them in “an agro-industrial operation.” The individual consumer and Direct Action Everywhere are represented by the Richman Law Group and Elsner Law & Policy, LLC.

Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere onFacebook and athttp://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter@DxEverywhere.

May 30, 2017, San Francisco, CA – Today, an activist with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) was arrested at a live chicken market and slaughterhouse in downtown San Francisco after activists removed several animals. The activist, DxE co-founder and former Northwestern law professor Wayne Hsiung, converged with hundreds of others at the slaughterhouse at 1136 Grant Ave to demand the release of the birds, who the activists say were victims of extreme animal cruelty documented with undercover cameras (LINK).

The slaughterhouse sit-in was followed a march to City Hall, where the nonviolent activists were blocked by heavily armed police officers and prevented from entering the building, which is accessible to the public. Activists addressed the mayor and Board of Supervisors from the steps outside, with a demand for protections for animals in the city (LINK).

“These birds have never known a moment of compassion or freedom,” Hsiung said during the rescue. “We’re asking San Francisco, as a city of animal lovers, to take immediate action to protect these animals from violence.”

Animals are sentient beings, as scientific evidence has shown. In 2012, hundreds of leading scientists signed the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness to recognize a scientific consensus regarding animal sentience akin to that on climate change.

“In today’s world, there is no rational way to defend torturing and killing animals for food,” said DxE investigator and animal rescuer Hana Low.

Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere onFacebook and athttp://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

April 15, 2017, San Francisco, CA – Today, activists with the animal liberation networkDirect Action Everywhere (DxE) stormed the notorious goat festival Goatchella to protest the forcible impregnation and mutilation of goats for goat dairy products and the slaughter of goats by farmers who supply the event. In the middle of the event, around 50 activists marched into the Ferry Building and began chanting and speaking out about violence against animals.

“For the 9th year in a row, Goatchella is promoting violence against animals. Countless investigations have exposed the myth of humane farming. There is no humane way to kill someone who wants to live,” said protest organizer Kitty Jones.

Goatchella has been the site of controversy in the past, with activists interrupting a cooking demo to considerable media coverage in 2015. The festival has since attempted to hide and minimize the celebration of goat “meat,” but the festival continues to sell products of slaughter, and the goat dairy products at the festival are the product of violence including forcible impregnation of mother goats who are then separated from their children.

“From routine forcible impregnation for dairy to outright murder, the practices promoted at Goatchella are nothing more than violence,” said Berkeley Organization for Animal Advocacy member Cassie King.

In the United States alone, approximately 50 billion animals including fish and other aquatic animals are killed annually to be eaten (approximately 100,000 every minute). Animals who are killed for their flesh endure intense psychological and physical trauma, and undercover investigations have found that they are routinely eviscerated while still conscious.

Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere onFacebook and athttp://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us onTwitter @DxEverywhere.

March 23, 2017, Washington, DC- Activist Barbara Glick with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) stood up in the courtroom of the Russell Senate Office Building today during Sonny Perdue’s confirmation hearing to become the Secretary of Agriculture, and held up a sign featuring pigs on it reading “We Want to Live.” Her chants brought the hearing to a halt as Perdue relayed his stories of growing up on a dairy farm. Glick accused Perdue of supporting widespread abuse of animals, declaring, “Animal Ag tortures animals, stop subsidizing violence!”

“Sonny Perdue is an enemy of animals and government transparency,” Glick said. “As the Governor of Georgia, he used his power to keep people in the dark about violence against animals while receiving$278,000 in USDA federal farm subsidies.”

Activists with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) have confronted and disrupted a number of political events in both major parties, including most recently Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin over her support for the Dairy Pride Act, Carly Fiorina’s speech at the Iowa Pork Producers, and several Bernie Sanders speechesover his dismissal of animal rights. DxE does not endorse or oppose specific candidates for the election.

A growing number of Americans support animal rights, with 32% in a recent poll calling for equal rights for animals to be free from harm. Activists say that politicians should reflect this shift by working to end routine mutilation, confinement, and killing of animals. DxE investigations have shown that even at so-called “humane” farms, violence against animals is rampant.

“Animal agriculture is an inherently violent industry,” said DxE press representative Rachel Ziegler. “It is time for the U.S. government to get on the right side of history and stop supporting it.”

In the United States alone, approximately 50 billion animals including fish and other sea animals are killed annually to be eaten (approximately 100,000 every minute). Animals who are killed for their flesh endure intense psychological and physical trauma, and undercover investigations have found that they are routinely eviscerated while still conscious.

Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere onFacebook and athttp://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

March 8, 2017, Berkeley, CA – Yesterday, Secret Service agents issued a court summons for advocate Paul Darwin Picklesimer with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) and visited his parents in connection with a protest at a Bernie Sanders rally in June 2016. The agents also repeatedly called and sought to meet another advocate, Damayanti Valle. Advocates unfurled signs and chanted for Sanders to oppose animal agriculture at a rally in Modesto, California. When Picklesimer revealed his sign, Secret Service agents forcibly pulled him over the barricade and injured him. The activists say the Secret Service’s aggressive pursuit of them nine months after the protest fits a pattern of anti-activist measures being pursued by President Trump’s administration.

“Last June I was manhandled and yanked over a railing for doing nothing more than chanting and holding a sign crying out for animals to be treated fairly,” said Pickelsimer. “This charge is an attempt by a newly-aggressive Trump government to stop those who would dare speak the truth about our society’s violent ways toward animals.”

DxE activists in the back of the room unfurled a banner declaring “Animal Liberation is Social Justice” as Picklesimer and Valle held signs at the front during Sanders’ campaign speech. Secret Service agents grabbed Picklesimer, pulled him over the barricade, threw him on the ground, and carried him off in handcuffs.

The Modesto protest followed a disruption two days earlier in Oakland, and both garnered national headlines from ABC News to Reuters. The activists were protesting Sanders’ ties to the dairy industry and indifference toward animal rights. They had sent the Sanders campaign a policy memoprior to the action, criticizing his support for agricultural subsidies for large corporations that torture animals.

“This preposterous charge and these unwarranted steps are designed to chill dissent,” said attorney Sona Mohnot.

The summons follows two other recent attempts to prosecute DxE activist Diane Gandee Sorbi who had rescued a sick hen from an egg farm in California; and Ateret Goldman and Maximilian Knight, who are currently embroiled in a controversy in Boulder, Colorado following a protest at Whole Foods. The charges against Sorbi were dropped following public outcry in support of her.

Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere onFacebook and athttp://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

15-Year-Old Threatened with Years in Prison for Protesting Whole Foods Animal Abuse

Arrest Warrants Issued After Protest Following Investigations of Retailer's Suppliers

March 2, 2017, Boulder, CO – Today, the Boulder, CO police department issued warrants for the arrest of two activists with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), following a protest at Whole Foods’ Ideal Market in Boulder. Ateret Goldman, a 15-year-old sophomore at Boulder’s New Vista High School, and Maximilian Knight, an engineering student at the University of Colorado at Boulder, are being charged with “criminal mischief” and “criminal tampering”; additionally, Knight is charged with burglary and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Goldman entered Ideal Market on the evening of Sunday, February 26, and laid flowers in the butcher case while speaking about treating animals with compassion. The activists cite a recent investigation uncovering mass violence at a Whole Foods turkey supplier as a motivation. If convicted, Goldman and Maximilian could be sentenced to multiple years in prison.

“Threatening animal advocates with years in prison for laying a flower in the butcher’s case is just the latest example of an increasing tendency to stifle dissent,” said Knight. “It’s clear that Whole Foods will do anything to hide the multiple investigations into their farms that have exposed horrific violence against animals.”

The protest follows investigations exposing violence at Whole Foods suppliers’ farms, including a top-rated turkey farm and the farm that provides the White House turkey on Thanksgiving. Recent investigations into Whole Foods eggsuppliers and a pork supplier exposed mass suffering as well. Goldman said she wanted to share the stories of exploited animals at Whole Foods’ farms and inform customers that “humane” animal products are marketing rather than reality.

Goldman and Knight entered the Whole Foods in Boulder on Sunday night with a bouquet of flowers as shown in a video posted to YouTube. Goldman stepped behind the butcher’s counter and spoke about the ideal of treating others as you would want to be treated while placing flowers in the case.

“When I see [animal] bodies I want to place flowers, a symbol of love, on top of them,” Goldman said as she stood behind the counter.

When Goldman had finished her speech, the two activists left the store. On Monday, police released a security camera photo of Goldman and Knight and offered a cash reward for information on them, despite the protest having been public. On Thursday, police informed an attorney for the activists that warrants for their arrest had been issued.

The arrest warrants follow another recent attempt to prosecute a DxE activist, Diane Gandee Sorbi, who had rescued a sick hen from an egg farm in California. The charges against Sorbi were dropped following public outcry in support of her. Goldman and Knight expect a similar result in their case.

Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere on Facebook and at http://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

Activists Hail Result as a “Victory for Animal Rights and Transparency”

February 10, Stockton, CA – This morning, San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Salazar dropped charges against Diane Gandee Sorbi, 62, an animal advocate who was charged with theft, larceny, and criminal mischief in conjunction with an investigation of a Certified Humane, cage-free Costco egg supplier in San Joaquin County. Gandee Sorbi, a retiree, animal shelter volunteer, and advocate with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) was alleged to have removed a hen who was featherless, covered in feces, and unable to walk as a result of abuses endured at Pleasant Valley Farms, a supplier of Costco’s Kirkland private label eggs. The exposé broke in The New York Times in October 2016. DxE activists celebrated today’s dismissal as an admission that the public has a right to know about violence against animals on farms.

“Today’s announcement is an admission that caring for a sick and injured animal and exposing her suffering is not something to be condemned,” said Sonya Mehta, a lawyer for Gandee Sorbi at the civil rights firm Siegel & Yee.

In response to charges, announced and covered in the San Francisco Chronicle last Friday, animal advocates nationwide rallied to Gandee Sorbi’s side, placing hundreds of phone calls to the San Joaquin District Attorney’s office. On Twitter, people tweeted at Costco using the hashtag #SupportDiane to draw attention to the case and the investigation that prompted it.

DxE activists have found widespread suffering at two major Costco suppliers in the past year. In July 2016, an investigation into the Farmer John pig farm found mass disease and the use of banned antibiotics at one of Costco’s largest - supposedly “natural” - pig suppliers. In October 2016, DxE released its investigation of Pleasant Valley Farms that prompted Gandee Sorbi’s case. Grassroots activists’ increasing ability to expose corporate misconduct, activists say, has led to politically-motivated attempts like the charges against Gandee Sorbi to silence their speech. As in this case, however, previous attempts to “gag” activists have often ended with charges dropped.

Gandee Sorbi, who lives in Redwood City with her husband Dan, was born in San Francisco and has lived her whole life in the Bay Area. Diane is an avid reader and enjoys fruit and vegetable gardening. She is a regular volunteer at local animal shelters and has a deep love of animals.

“Corporations can commit violence against animals like Ella, the hen at issue in this case, with impunity. We should not punish activists for exposing it,” Mehta said.

Direct Action Everywhere is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere on facebook and at http://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

February 3, Redwood City, CA – Last night, Diane Gandee Sorbi, 62, a retiree, animal shelter volunteer, and advocate with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), was charged with theft, larceny, and criminal mischief for allegedly rescuing a dying hen as part of an investigation of a Costco egg supplier, Pleasant Valley Farms, in San Joaquin County. The exposé, which broke in The New York Timesin October 2016, documented intensive confinement and cannibalism at a supplier of Costco’s Kirkland private label eggs. Gandee Sorbi is alleged to have removed a hen who was featherless, covered in feces, and unable to walk as a result of abuses endured at the farm, which Costco markets as “cage-free” and “humane.” The DxE activists say the charges are retaliation for whistleblowing and an end-run around the agricultural industry’s failed attempt to pass “ag-gag” legislation in California.

“These investigators are doing exactly what any good person would do: they’re helping animals who are sick and suffering,” said Sonya Mehta, a lawyer for Gandee Sorbi at the civil rights firm Siegel & Yee. “If the industry actually cared about animal welfare or transparency, it would be praising people like Diane instead of punishing them.”

DxE activists have undertaken two major investigations of Costco suppliers in the past year and found widespread suffering. In July 2016, an investigation into the Farmer John pig farm found mass disease and the use of banned antibiotics at one of Costco’s largest pig suppliers, which was marketed as “natural” by Costco. In October 2016, DxE released an investigation showing mass cannibalism among egg-laying hens at Pleasant Valley Farms, which produces Kirkland brand eggs sold at Costco stores. The increasing ability of grassroots activists to expose misconduct by corporations, activists say, has led to politically-motivated attempts to silence their speech and repress their activism.

Gandee Sorbi, who lives in Redwood City with her husband Dan, was born in San Francisco and has lived her whole life in the Bay Area. Diane is an avid reader and enjoys fruit and vegetable gardening. She is a regular volunteer at local animal shelters and has a deep love of animals.

“The animal at issue in this case, Ella, was dying and would have literally been thrown into the garbage by the farm. Instead, she is now healthy and living at a sanctuary -- which is what every animal deserves,” Mehta said.

Mehta says that Gandee Sorbi plans to plead not guilty and mount a vigorous legal defense against the charges.

This press release, including a photo of Diane and video of the investigation, is available on the web here.

Direct Action Everywhere is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere on facebook and at http://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

February 2, Redwood City, CA – Last night, Diane Gandee Sorbi, 62, a retiree and activist with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), was charged with theft, larceny, and criminal mischief for allegedly rescuing a dying hen from a major Costco egg supplier, Pleasant Valley Farms, in San Joaquin County. The charges, which come in the wake of an investigation of Costco that broke in The New York Times in late 2016, relate to the removal of a bird who was covered in feces, featherless, and unable to walk as a result of abuses endured at the farm, which Costco markets as “cage-free” and “humane.” DxE activists say the charges are punishment for whistleblowing activity and an instance of the increasing clamp-down on dissent.

“Our investigators are doing exactly what any good person would do: they’re helping animals who are sick and suffering,” said Wayne Hsiung, lead investigator of the DxE Open Rescue Network. “If the industry actually cared about animal welfare or transparency, it would be praising activists like Diane instead of punishing them.”

DxE activists have undertaken two major investigations of Costco suppliers in the past year and found serious misconduct. In July 2016, an investigation into the Farmer John pig farm found mass disease and the use of banned antibiotics at one of Costco’s largest pig suppliers, which was marketed as “natural” by Costco. In October 2016, DxE released an investigation showing mass cannibalism among egg-laying hens at Pleasant Valley Farms, which produces Kirkland brand eggs sold at Costco stores. The increasing ability of grassroots activists to expose misconduct by corporations, activists say, has led to politically-motivated attempts to silence their speech and repress their activism.

“The animal at issue in this case, Ella, was dying and would have literally been thrown into the garbage by the farm. Instead, she is now healthy and living at a sanctuary -- which is what every animal deserves,” Hsiung said. “This prosecution is a politically-motivated attempt to scare and silence activists, plain and simple.”

Hsiung says that Gandee Sorbi plans to plead not guilty and mount a vigorous legal defense against the charges.

Direct Action Everywhere is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere on facebook and at http://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

January 30, Berkeley, CA – Today, advocates with the animal liberation network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) issued a lawsuit (COMPLAINT) in Alameda County against Whole Foods “Step 5+” supplier Diestel Turkey Ranch, a little over a year after an investigation reported on in the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post revealed sickening conditions at the northern California farm. The lawsuit claims Diestel violated California’s False Advertising Law by labeling its turkeys as “free range” and “humane” despite raising them in “an agro-industrial operation.” The suit, brought by Richman Law Group on behalf of DxE, demands that Diestel pay damages and cease the misleading marketing.

“Diestel and Whole Foods are distorting consumer perceptions,” said Kim Richman of the Richman Law Group. “Consumers and animals both pay the price for that fraud.”

In November 2015, Direct Action Everywhere released an investigation into Diestel Turkey Ranch, one of Whole Foods’ largest turkey suppliers, located in Jamestown, California. Investigators at DxE found widespread disease and hundreds of dead or dying birds. DxE further discovered that Whole Foods’ advertising of Diestel turkey came from a non-commercial “showcase” farm. Additional photos and video from the investigation can be found here.

Multiple investigations into farms that supply Whole Foods have challenged the company’s animal welfare claims. An investigation in early 2015 of a Whole Foods Certified Humane egg supplier and an investigation into a supplier of Whole Foods’ “humanely raised pork” revealed similar abuses in the Whole Foods supply chain. The activists say that “humane” labeling of animal products is a deceptive marketing ploy.

This past November, Direct Action Everywhere released an investigation into another Whole Foods turkey supplier, Jaindl Farms, which has supplied the U.S. President with two Thanksgiving turkeys since the 1960s. Although Jaindl is rated in the 98th percentile of animal welfare according to its website, investigators found starvation, mutilation, and extreme crowding after visiting nearly all the barns at the facility.

“Consumers should be highly skeptical of animal welfare claims by corporations that profit from exploiting animals,” said DxE lead investigator Wayne Hsiung. “Whole Foods and Diestel are committing not just factual but moral fraud.”

Every year over 67 million turkeys are killed to be eaten during the holiday season. Animals who are killed for their flesh endure intense psychological and physical trauma, and undercover investigations have found that they are routinely eviscerated while still conscious.

Direct Action Everywhere is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere on facebook and at http://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

Following Investigation and Open Rescue, Animal Rights Activists Protest inside South of Market District Costco

Activists Urge the Public to Take Action against “Animal Abusing” Companies

December 17, 2016, San Francisco, CA– Today, following an investigation of a North American pig breeding farm and open rescue of a piglet destined for slaughter, activists with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) protested inside the South of Market District Costco. The investigation follows two investigations in 2016 finding horrific violence at Costco meat suppliers, including a pig farm with mass overuse of antibiotics and a cage-free egg facility rife with cannibalism. Activists covered the meat and deli sections of the store with hundreds of messages of hope for nonhuman animals in the new year, formed a human chain to block the meat counter, and delivered speeches about the animals who died in 2016, those who were rescued, and their hopes for nonhuman animals in 2017.

“Animals like Madison, the piglet DxE’s open rescue network saved from slaughter, have dreams just like you and me,” said local activist ACTIVIST NAME. “Make these dreams a reality by resolving to take nonviolent direct action against animal-abusing companies like Costco in the new year.”

This month, a DxE open rescue team entered a massive North American pig breeding farm where mother pigs are forcibly impregnated and confined to gestation crates as small as their own bodies and where baby piglets are taken away just 17 days after birth. Activists describe the conditions as “nightmarish” with dozens of dead and rotting piglets littering the ground. They rescued a ten-pound piglet named Madison who was destined for slaughter and brought her to safety.

Pigs are as intelligent as dogs and human toddlers. They are also very social animals with excellent memories. Yet corporations like Costco force them to experience tortured lives and untimely deaths. After being taken away from their mothers, young pigs are confined to filthy pens where they must fight for food, water and space. At six months of age, juvenile pigs are transported to slaughter in trucks where they are jammed in shoulder to shoulder. Filthy, crowded conditions in slaughterhouses cause many pigs to become ill and the practice of using excessive amounts of antibiotics in order to keep pigs alive until slaughter has contributed to the worldwide health crisis known as “superbugs” or antibiotic resistant bacteria.

In July 2016, DxE investigated Hormel’s Farmer John, a supplier to Costco, where the investigative team found pigs eating each other alive and antibiotic-resistant Staph infection. The team rescued a sick piglet they named Miley and staged protests at Costco stores nationwide. In October, DxE investigated a cage-free Costco egg supplier, finding cannibalism and extreme duress at a farm that had been a model for the industry. The team rescued a sick hen named Ella from the facility and took her to a vet for treatment. In all cases, the activists have called for a campaign of protests to end violence against animals.

“The holiday season is a time for families to be together, but families like Madison’s are being ripped apart every day for the profit of animal abusing companies like Costco,” said activist OTHER ACTIVIST NAME, “but we know that there is another way. We see a future where every animal can live safe, happy and free.”

Pigs and other animals who are killed for their flesh during the holiday season endure intense psychological and physical trauma, and undercover investigations have found that they are routinely eviscerated while still conscious.

Direct Action Everywhere is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere on facebook and at http://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

August 10, 2016, Des Moines, IA – For the second time this week, activists with the animal liberation network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) interrupted a rally by Hillary Clinton with signs and chants calling for Clinton to end corporate welfare for animal agriculture. While Clinton rallied the crowd at Lincoln High School, activists emerged from the crowd and climbed over the barricades around the stage with signs declaring “Get Big Ag Out of Politics.” The DxE activists say Clinton, who recently held a $50,000 per ticket fundraiser with Costco founder Jeff Brotman, has supported billions of dollars in subsidies to farm conglomerates, including Costco suppliers such as Hormel. Activist Kelsey Atkinson was wrestled to the ground and arrested after climbing over a barrier as she chanted.

Activists participating in the protests released an open letter to Secretary Clinton last week followed by a policy memo this morning detailing their demands. The activists say Clinton, who recently announced an animal welfare platform, should immediately commit to ending corporate welfare for animal-abusing corporations.

“Hillary is taking a huge amount of money from companies like Costco, and when government money goes back to their suppliers, it raises serious questions about undue influence,” DxE activist Kelsey Atkinson said. “If we’re serious about animal protection, we need to stop funding animal torture and start the process of abolishing the systems that exploit them.”

Every year over 50 billion land and sea animals are killed for food in the U.S. alone. Animals who are killed for their flesh endure intense psychological and physical trauma, and undercover investigations have found that they are routinely eviscerated while still conscious.

Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere on Facebook and at http://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

August 2, 2016, Denver, CO – Today, four Colorado activists with the grassroots animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) were manhandled and dragged after running onto Coors Field during a game with the LA Dodgers with signs declaring “Dodgers Torture Animals” and “Keep Animal Cruelty Out of Sports,” stopping play for several minutes. It follows a similar event last month in LA, in which DxE activists (VIDEO and STORY) disrupted another game on the heels of an investigation and video finding horrific violence at Hormel’s Farmer John, the so-called “natural” supplier of the team’s Dodger Dogs. Today’s particular game aggressively marketed $1 hot dogs to its first 10,000 attendees. The activists are demanding that the Dodgers, Rockies, and all other institutions stop selling animal products, support equal rights for all animals to be free from captivity and harm, and publicly condemn violence against animals.

“Baseball teams market the Dodger Dogs and other hot dogs as good old fashioned baseball fare,” said DxE activist Alyssa Ivankovich, “but the truth is that they represent a horrific tradition of separating piglets from their families before submitting them to a violent death.”

DxE released an investigative report on July 1st documenting Staph infections resistant to several commonly used antibiotics at Farmer John’s facility in Corcoran, CA. The investigative team found rampant, stress-induced antibiotic resistant disease in the facility as well as cannibalism and extreme duress. Pigs at the facility were languishing in agony and barely able to move around. The activists removed one dying pig whom they named Miley after the singer and animal rights supporter in order to give her emergency medical care.

The investigation into Farmer John came on the heels of a rescue of several dogs from the dog meat trade in Yulin, China covered on ABC’s Nightline. The activists say that what happens to pigs at Farmer John is no better than what happens to dogs in Yulin.. Americans’ anger at Yulin, activists say, should be turned toward farms like Farmer John as well.

“There is no place for cruelty and violence in sports entertainment,” said activist Charles Mullins. “It would be so easy for us to maintain our favorite traditions without violence against animals. We must take the cruelty of Dodger Dogs, and all products of animal exploitation, out of baseball.”

In the United States alone, over 9 billion land animals are killed annually to be eaten. Animals who are killed for their flesh endure intense psychological and physical trauma, and undercover investigations have found that they are routinely eviscerated while still conscious.

Direct Action Everywhere is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere on facebook and at http://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

July 11, 2016, Los Angeles – Today, over 100 members of the animal liberation network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) marched down Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles before blocking the intersection of Hollywood and Highland to demand the end to the culture of violence against animals. The dramatic protest came at the end of a four-day gathering of activists from around the world in Los Angeles for the Animal Rights National Conference 2016.

“We are just at the beginning of a grassroots movement for total animal liberation,” said protest organizer Priya Sawhney. “It is only a matter of time before all animals have a right under the law of California and, indeed, the United States, to a life that is free from harm.”

The grassroots activist network DxE was founded in the Bay Area in 2013. Since then, DxE has spread to over 30 countries and 152 cities.The network’s dramatic protests, and investigations of four California farms and a dog meat facility in Yulin, China, have been covered by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, ABC Nightline and hundreds of other media outlets.

Today’s protest follows the release of an investigative report revealing antibiotic resistant infection at Hormel’s Farmer John pig facility just outside Los Angeles due to mass antibiotic overuse that poses a human health risk. The activists say an investigative team that included former Baywatch star Alexandra Paul found horrendous conditions with thousands of diseased and languishing pigs at the filthy facility, including piglets being eaten alive or trampled to death. One pig, who the team named Miley after the singer and animal rights supporter, was rescued from the facility and rushed to receive emergency medical care.

The activist network made headlines in June on ABC’s Nightline with an investigation into the dog meat trade in Yulin, China. Using hidden cameras the activists documented dogs confined, beaten and thrown in vats of boiling oil. The investigators say conditions at the Farmer John pig farm in California were no better. Americans’ anger at Yulin, activists say, should be turned toward farms like Farmer John as well. DxE ties the violence at Farmer John to the restaurants, clothing stores and shoe stores up and down Hollywood Boulevard. Americans are supporting violence for countless animals like Miley.

DxE maintains that so long as animals are raised to be killed and used for human pleasure animal cruelty will remain the norm. Through protests and “open rescues” – in which activists enter a farm, document the conditions, and rescue ailing animals – DxE aims to launch a national conversation about animal exploitation.

“We commit horrific acts of violence against animals for the most trivial of purposes,” said activist Orlando Torres, “So today we came together to demand a stop to the violence.”

Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere on Facebook and at http://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

July 11, 2016, Los Angeles – Today, over 100 members of the animal liberation network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) marched down Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles before blocking the intersection of Hollywood and Highland to demand the end to the culture of violence against animals. The dramatic protest came at the end of a four-day gathering of activists from around the world in Los Angeles for the Animal Rights National Conference 2016.

“We are just at the beginning of a grassroots movement for total animal liberation,” said protest organizer Priya Sawhney. “It is only a matter of time before all animals have a right under the law of California and, indeed, the United States, to a life that is free from harm.”

The grassroots activist network DxE was founded in the Bay Area in 2013. Since then, DxE has spread to over 30 countries and 152 cities.The network’s dramatic protests, and investigations of four California farms and a dog meat facility in Yulin, China, have been covered by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, ABC Nightline and hundreds of other media outlets.

Today’s protest follows the release of an investigative report revealing antibiotic resistant infection at Hormel’s Farmer John pig facility just outside Los Angeles due to mass antibiotic overuse that poses a human health risk. The activists say an investigative team that included former Baywatch star Alexandra Paul found horrendous conditions with thousands of diseased and languishing pigs at the filthy facility, including piglets being eaten alive or trampled to death. One pig, who the team named Miley after the singer and animal rights supporter, was rescued from the facility and rushed to receive emergency medical care.

The activist network made headlines in June on ABC’s Nightline with an investigation into the dog meat trade in Yulin, China. Using hidden cameras the activists documented dogs confined, beaten and thrown in vats of boiling oil. The investigators say conditions at the Farmer John pig farm in California were no better. Americans’ anger at Yulin, activists say, should be turned toward farms like Farmer John as well. DxE ties the violence at Farmer John to the restaurants, clothing stores and shoe stores up and down Hollywood Boulevard. Americans are supporting violence for countless animals like Miley.

DxE maintains that so long as animals are raised to be killed and used for human pleasure animal cruelty will remain the norm. Through protests and “open rescues” – in which activists enter a farm, document the conditions, and rescue ailing animals – DxE aims to launch a national conversation about animal exploitation.

“We commit horrific acts of violence against animals for the most trivial of purposes,” said activist Orlando Torres, “So today we came together to demand a stop to the violence.”

Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere onFacebook and athttp://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

July 4, 2016, Brooklyn, NY – Today, activists with the grassroots animal rights networkDirect Action Everywhere (DxE) jumped on stage at the Nathan’s Famous 100th Anniversary Hot Dog Eating Contest as the men’s competition began, throwing fake blood over the hot dogs to represent the violence of animal agriculture. The protest comes on the heels of an investigation released Friday into another hot dog supplier in California, which activists say represents the violence of the entire industry of animal agriculture. Activists are demanding an end to the Nathan’s contest.

“This grotesque event takes a day of celebration and turns it into a festival of violence and gore for animals no different than our dogs and cats,” said DxE activist Rachel Zeigler.

The protest follows the release of an investigative report showcasing the development of superbugs at the Hormel’s Farmer John pig facility due to mass antibiotics use. The activists say an undercover team found thousands of diseased and languishing pigs at the facility, including piglets being eaten alive or trampled to death. One pig, who the team named Miley after the singer and animal rights supporter, was rescued from the facility and rushed to receive emergency medical care.

Noting that similarissues occur in the beef industry, the activists are protesting events across the U.S. on the 4th of July that involve products of violence against animals, including those sold by both Nathan’s and Farmer John. While celebrating freedom and family, the activists say, Americans are supporting captivity, violence, and forced separation from their families for countless animals like Miley.

The activist network recently made headlines on ABC Nightline with an investigation into the dog meat trade in Yulin, China. The activists saw dogs confined and tortured and say that conditions at Farmer John were no better. Americans’ anger at Yulin, activists say, should be turned toward companies like Nathan’s as well.

“Time and time again our activists have gone inside facilities where animals are held before being killed. In every single one - humane, natural, or otherwise - what we see is horrific,” said activist Chris Palmieri.

In the United States alone, over 9 billion land animals are killed annually to be eaten. Animals who are killed for their flesh endure intense psychological and physical trauma, and undercover investigations have found that they are routinely eviscerated while still conscious.

Direct Action Everywhere is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere onfacebook and athttp://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

July 1, Kings County, CA – Today, the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) released an investigation into a “natural” Hormel pork farm following on the heels of a lawsuit announced yesterday by the Animal Legal Defense Fund in Bloomberg. The investigation revealed the first-ever finding of antibiotic resistant Staph infection at a specific major American pork farm as well as mass use of the antibiotic carbadox, in the process of being banned by the Food and Drug Administration as a carcinogen at all levels (see lab results here). The investigators donned biosecurity suits to enter the Farmer John finishing facility for Hormel - supplier to Costco, Safeway, and the LA Dodgers - and found thousands of languishing animals, including piglets too weak to stand and animals with grotesque, tennis ball-sized abscesses. Former Baywatch actress Alexandra Paul and actor Chris De Rose took part in the investigation.

“When I stepped foot into Farmer John, I realized this was not a farm - this was the world’s worst infirmary, where thousands of animals suffer horrific and neglected diseases that risk spreading to humans,” said lead investigator Wayne Hsiung.

DxE documented gruesome scenes such as lame animals being trampled to death and piles of dead piglets. In one instance, DxE investigators saw a still-living piglet so sick she was unable to escape being eaten alive. The investigators felt morally compelled to remove the piglet and rush her to receive veterinary care, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia and septic arthritis. Today the baby pig (who the rescuers named “Miley” after the famous pop singer and animal advocate) lives safely at an animal sanctuary, but had she remained she might have been slaughtered and fed to members of the public, including children.

Last week, DxE released an investigation into the notorious dog meat trade in Yulin, China covered on ABC’s Nightline. There the activists saw dogs beaten to death, urinated on by workers, and suffering from severe skin infections, triggering a public outcry and demands prominently featured on the progressive website MoveOn.org that President Obama push China to end the trade. DxE activists assert that the conditions on Farmer John closely resemble those in Yulin, China and are likely worse.

“What I saw in China shocked the conscience, but what we are doing to pigs and countless other animals in the United States does not just rival that - it outdoes it,” said DxE investigator Julianne Perry.

Protests are planned at Costco stores and 4th of July events around the country.

Access DxE’s full press kit, including videos and high resolution photos, here.

Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere on Facebook and at http://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

July 3, 2016, Los Angeles, CA – Today, five activists with the grassroots animal rights networkDirect Action Everywhere (DxE)ran onto the field at Dodger Stadium, interrupting a game with the Colorado Rockies with a banner that read “Dodgers Torture Animals”. Major League Baseball attempted to block video (screenshot here) of the activists, who released an investigation and video on Friday of Hormel’s Farmer John, the so-called “natural” supplier of the team’s Dodger Dogs. The investigation found piglets in agony from disease, struggling to stand, and eating each other alive in the severe stress of the facility. The activists assert that the cruelty behind Dodger Dogs shows how widespread violence against animals is and are demanding that the LA Dodgers take steps to stop selling animal products, support equal rights for all animals to be free from captivity and harm, and publicly condemn violence against animals.

“The LA Dodgers relentlessly promote their ‘Dodger Dogs’ as fun, family-friendly fare,” said DxE activist Zoe Rosenberg, “but the truth is that Dodger Dogs are made from piglets who were taken from their family, thrown into a massive prison, and tormented by disease and neglect that would horrify any family.”

The protest follows the release of an investigative report showcasing the development of superbugs due to mass mass antibiotic use at Farmer John to combat disease at its facility in Corcoran, CA. The activists say an undercover team found thousands of diseased and languishing pigs at the facility, including piglets being eaten alive or trampled to death. One pig, who the team named Miley after the singer and animal rights supporter, was rescued from the facility and rushed to receive emergency medical care.

The activist network recently made headlines on ABC’s Nightline with an investigation into the dog meat trade in Yulin, China. The activists saw dogs confined and tortured and say that conditions at Farmer John were no better. Americans’ anger at Yulin, activists say, should be turned toward farms like Farmer John as well. DxE ties the violence at Farmer John to the hot dogs Americans will be eating on the 4th of July. While celebrating freedom and family, the activists say, Americans are supporting captivity, violence, and forced separation for countless animals like Miley.

“There were literally thousands of other cases exactly like Miley, baby pigs so sick they were unable to stand” said activist and investigator on the project Almira Tanner. “This disease and suffering is being fed directly to the American public, and it’s being called ‘natural.’ This is an outright lie.”

In the United States alone, over 9 billion land animals are killed annually to be eaten. Animals who are killed for their flesh endure intense psychological and physical trauma, and undercover investigations have found that they are routinely eviscerated while still conscious.

Direct Action Everywhere is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere onfacebook and athttp://directactioneverywhere.com/. Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.